


The Marker

by Onki



Category: John Wick (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Guns, Violence, at least how i think it went down, marker origin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 12:15:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11081388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onki/pseuds/Onki
Summary: A story about how Santino got the marker.





	The Marker

Santino was woken up by hands restraining his arms. He flailed helplessly, kicking out and biting.

“Guards!” he tried but a gloved hand covered his mouth, muffling his further cries.

“It’s me, John Wick”, the man offered as if that was supposed to calm him. You only see John Wick in two occasions either you’re a lover or a dead-man. Obviously, Santino was far from being the first one, he panicked more, struggling with a ferocity of a drowning man in the sea.

“I’m not here to kill you”, he continued, pinning Santino completely, making him feel more claustrophobic. Alright, last part made him feel a little better, but who knows, maybe he’s here to torture.

“I’ll take my hand off and you’ll not scream nor struggle”, Santino nodded after few seconds of processing his words.

“You better talk before I shoot you”, Santino said after John released him and he stood up, trying to recollect his shattered pride.

“Giana told me she’d be here”, John looked up at him, as if Santino kept tabs on all the members of his family.

“You fucking my sister had nothing to do with me. If that’s all you’ve got to say leave now, or else I’ll trigger every alarm in this mansion and even the infamous Boogeyman will not be able to make his way out of this one”, Santino cursed John, his sleep was already gone, who knew that there was a far more effective way of waking up than coffee.

“She said she’d help me with a job”, John continued, ignoring Santino, “And it is urgent.”

“Well we’re both D’Antonios unless it’s a blowjob, I guess I could make it happen as well”, Santino said walking up to the window to look out at the garden.

“I need to kill every Russian clan boss, except Tarasovs, tonight”, John said plainly, as if they were discussing weather.

“And you think we’re going to help? Do you think our clan wants a war with Russians?” Santino wanted to strangle his sister, how could she promise that kind of thing behind his back?

“Your sister said she could make it happen, without starting a war”, John looked up Santino with a challenge in his eyes.

And it was all that was needed for Santino to agree to that suicidal foolish plan. Santino became enraged whenever someone compared him to his sister. An ugly feeling grew inside of him each time Gianna was held as an example, and Santino as a failure. Most of the foolish things he had done so far were only to spite everyone beside him, and of course that hadn’t helped anyone.

“Do you have locations?”

John had pointed out five different locations, all were headquarters of the well-established families in the city that were known to crush any newcomer forming syndicates. Tarasov, sly devil, sending out his only best man for a suicide job.

“And what I’ll get in return?” Santino asked, fiddling with his phone, finger already hovering over Ares’ number. He was already ready to help him, but that’d be foolish of him not to ask for something in return. He was a crime lord prince and getting rich wasn’t based on Samaritan’s jobs after all.

“A marker. From me. Winston will explain everything once we’re done. The more we talk the more time we lose.”

“Fine”

\---

The rest of the night was a blur for the young D’Antonio. He was behind the lines, but he still tagged along with Ares, seeing how her close squad infiltrated all of the henchmen that were on their way. Santino had to partake as well, he couldn’t take a lot of men with himself, as it’d draw too much attention within his family. So he picked the ones he trusted most, who was Ares. And Ares picked her closest dozen of men and women.

Within two hours bodies piled over, Santino shot the bosses by himself. At Ares’ questioning look he just signed back, ‘It’s symbolic for a leader to kill another one’, to which Ares just rolled her eyes and ran to her next destination, pulling Santino to urge him to run faster.

At the last one, when they entered the building, they already heard the gunshots echoing from the walls. John had already left a bloody trail behind himself, bodies slumped, some, left with wounds that they’ve clutched, making their way out of the building. Santino couldn’t decide whether it was a mercy or torture.

When they finally reached the heat of the fire, they saw rugged John slumped behind one of the columns, breathing hard. There was blood on his face, making his hair stick together. They were all tired, and it seemed like this one was informed by his already dead associates, as the guys they were fighting against were armed to the teeth.

Ares gave him a disapproving look when Santino used his grenade launcher, putting everything on fire, impact, shaking the whole construction from the core. But, hey, at least that cleared up that floor’s goons completely. It was hard to breathe and see from all the smoke and fumes, but that was a small price to pay for when they were against a small army of angry Russian mobsters.

At one point they were out of ammo, so they had to improvise with their enemy’s own weapons, throwing pistols, snatching other’s rifles and carbines. Santino was rather picky with his weapons, choosing glocks over others, giving Ares and John a nonchalant look, when they eyed them with disbelief.

“What, I’m used to this one. On your left!” Santino warned, before firing several rounds, killing two with headshots.

“We might as well start a head count now”, he huffed, before rolling away from another set of bullets, that almost got into his legs.

“It’s going to feel so satisfying to kill that _stronzo_ ”, he knifed one in the neck with more force than necessary. He was already dead tired from his night escapades, but others seemed to be not out of breathe like him. So he had to shut his mouth with clenched teeth and continue, however his kills were becoming more and more sloppier and bloodier, stabbing more because he couldn’t finish from the first one.

‘Tired?’ Ares gestured a flicker of worry crossing her features. Santino just shook his head and attacked onwards. His other men were guarding all the other exits, so there is no way the boss could escape now. Now, there were no other guards, the building seemed to be haunted, they had to be even more quiet than the silence itself, listening into any sounds.

“What if he escaped, maybe there are secret tunnels”, Santino suggested when they reached the final floor.

“No, he’s here”, John whispered slinking from one corner to another. It was only three of them now: Ares, John and Santino. Two others that tagged along were fatally shot, or not, Santino didn’t stay long enough to ask. They all had burned their fingertips and had nothing to identify them, so he didn’t worry about starting a war, others could blame Tarasovs, who were the only ones that won here.

When they finally reached the room they expected two dozen of men lounging at them, but there was no such thing – there was only one man, sitting in the corner begging for his life.

“Please, I have family! Think about my wife and children!” Santino wanted to roll his eyes at the typical plea for life, but John seemed to falter, gun still pointing at the man’s head, not firing.

“Oh, please , John”, Santino interjected, before roughly pushing down John arm and quickly shooting at the Russian’s torso and one at the head, ending his prayers.

“Are we done now?” Ares was checking the perimeter, looking for anything of value. She handed few papers to him, and he saw those were cargo information coming to city’s ports with batches of cocaine from the three bosses that they’ve raided. At least that compensated over night of lost sleep and few dead men.

“ _At ease, men, target is down”,_ Santino said into his headpiece, pocketing the papers.

“We head to the Continental now”, Wick moved out of the room without further delays, “Bring only Ares with you.”

\---

Well, this is ridiculous. It was the only thought that kept repeating in his head, when Winston opened an ancient looking leather bound book from his desk, bringing a medallion to Wick, who, in turn sliced his thumb and pressed into it, chanting some vows in Latin. It felt like signing up for a secret society, Ares was the ‘witness’ and Winston was the chronicler of Markers, who wrote down both of their names, making each sign on the page and Wick to put another bloody fingerprint on it.

It was like a marriage, really, binding them both until Santino says so. He quite liked the feeling of the one holding the leash on the Boogeyman. Even when he has retired he’d have to live in fear that _some_ day Santino will come to collect his dept.

\---

When large amounts of money from the Russian drugs started flooding into laundromats and parlors, it caught attention of his father, who of course got to know, that it was from the dead clans. He threatened to not include Santino in his will at all, but by that time Santino has learned to control himself better, only giving a smile in return.

Years later, an old man on his death bed bequeathed his seat at the High Table to Gianna D’Antonio.


End file.
